A life is claimed by suicide every 13.3 minutes in America, taking 39,500 from us annually, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The foundation estimates that someone attempts suicide every minute, with a million people attempting to take their lives annually.
On Sunday afternoon, 814 people trekked through State College as part of the Out of the Darkness Walk. The event takes place around the country, and raised approximately $40,000 in State College for research on suicide prevention and awareness for mental health issues.
Amy Brehm took part in the walk, honoring her son who took his life. She says that raising awareness for mental health issues is a critical issue.
“It’s extremely important because we had no clue that this would happen obviously, or it would not have happened,” she says.
Brehm stresses the need to educate people on these issues and remove the taboo surrounding suicide.
“We use Facebook as a means of getting the word out,” she says. “A friend of mine makes a post every single night for me, for 205 days so far, just trying to make people aware. We need to eliminate the stigma.”
This was Brehm’s third Out of the Darkness Walk.
“I think it’s an amazing event,” she says. “I’m really happy with the turnout and the procedure they go through to get people involved. I couldn’t say enough good about it.”
Brehm says she has dealt with one of the most prevalent emotions felt by those who lose a loved one to suicide: shock.
“It’s just so important that if somebody is going through a dark time to be aware, because I could have never imagined in my lifetime that I would experience this,” she says. “I thought I was doing everything I could do for my son.”
The closing remarks came from Cindy Ross, who also lost a loved one to suicide.
“On the back of my shirt is the saying my daughter came up with: ‘People who died by suicide didn’t want to end their lives, they wanted to end their pain,’” Ross says. “We know they all suffered and thought that was the way out for them.”
After losing a loved one, Ross says, it’s important to honor their memory through events like Sunday’s walk. A common theme at the walk was the word “survivor,” which the foundation uses to refer to those who lost someone to suicide.
“You are survivors. You face each day as it comes to you with strength and courage,” Ross says. “You may not feel that’s true, but it takes both and much more to be able to get through each day. There will be many ups and downs you will take as you go on your journey of healing from the void that has been left in all of our lives. Know that you are not alone.”
On Sunday, those survivors had over 800 walking with them to prove they aren’t alone.
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